


Merlin Drabbles

by jazsy



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Angst, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Magical Reveal Fic, Tuna noodle casserole, superangst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-01
Updated: 2012-11-30
Packaged: 2017-11-19 23:28:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/578808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jazsy/pseuds/jazsy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bits of literature of the Merlin genre.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Epic Wish

Arthur glances at the clock on his laptop to find it reads 11:11.  
  
 _11:11 on 11-11-11_ , Merlin had explained, ever patient with Arthur's inherent practicality.  _Most epic wish ever. If any wish is going to come true, Arthur, it's the one you make then._  
  
Arthur rolls his eyes, but glances back at the clock. It hasn't changed.  
  
 _I wish Merlin were here_ , Arthur thinks, and for a second wildly hopes Merlin might appear out of thin air, violin still in hand.  
  
Ridiculous. Merlin is in France practicing his being a musical prodigy, like he has been for the past week. Arthur rolls his eyes again at his inability to be sensible where Merlin is concerned, and tries to get back to work.  
  
Two minutes later, Merlin walks through his office door, kicks it shut behind him, climbs into Arthur's lap, and kisses him breathless.  
  
When Merlin pulls away a little, Arthur can't do any more than gape at him because  _fuck a duck, it actually worked_. Merlin grins, eyes sparkling, and leans his forehead against Arthur's as he slowly slides his arms around Arthur's shoulders and threads his lovely fingers into Arthur's hair.   
  
Arthur's brain finally starts to catch up with the fact that Merlin is  _here_  and he wraps his arms around Merlin's back, pulling him in tighter. He tilts his mouth up for a kiss, and can feel Merlin still smiling as he falls into it. The kiss is deep and sweet, and Arthur refuses to stop until he has completely relearned the taste of Merlin's mouth.  
  
Panting a little, Merlin nuzzles at Arthur's ear and whispers, "Take me home?"  
  
\---  
  
"What did you wish for?" Arthur asks Merlin as they lie in their bed, bodies just tangled enough to be reassuring.  
  
Merlin has that proud, happy look, the one he gets when he realizes he's affected Arthur's sensible life ( _if he only knew_ ). "I wished that your meeting schedule would be clear this afternoon."


	2. Bathtub

Arthur starts to open his eyes, but immediately shuts them again when the sunlight seems to pierce directly into his brain. He groans and reaches out to shove at Merlin to go close the shades, and maybe get him some water and a painkiller because god does his neck hurt. But instead of finding his boyfriend's warm body, he finds cold fiberglass.  
  
Confused, he reopens his eyes, squinting, and looks around to realize that he's lying in the bathtub. Fully dressed, in fact.   
  
Then the events of the evening before rush back over him, and Arthur groans again, dropping his head back to rest on the edge of the tub.  
  
He and Merlin were visiting his uncle's estate for part of the holiday, and Merlin had taken exception to some of the things Arthur's uncle had said during dinner. By some miracle, Merlin'd had enough sense to keep quiet during the meal, but he and Arthur had had a spectacular fight in their room afterward, and Arthur needed to not be in the same room as him anymore. He knew his absence and return would cause a scene in the morning, as would his sleeping on the sofa downstairs. So he'd had no choice but to sleep in the bathtub in the bathroom adjoined to his and Merlin's room.  
  
Arthur sighs and just as he's decided he'd better go see if Merlin is awake and ready to sort this out, the door opens and there's Merlin wrapped in a blanket, looking as if he barely slept at all. He's carrying two cups of coffee, and he hands one to Arthur before climbing into the tub next to him. Merlin balances his cup on the edge of the tub as he wraps the blanket around both of them, then lays his head on Arthur's shoulder while he takes a sip of his coffee.  
  
"I'm sorry," Merlin says quietly.  
  
"I'm sorry too," Arthur answers, sliding a hand up the back of Merlin's neck to stroke his hair as they quietly begin the familiar process of setting things right.  
  
Much later, a maid will be sent to fetch them for brunch, and if she's surprised to find them sleeping in the bathtub, she won't show it. She will, however, blush a little at the fact that they are wearing only a blanket.


	3. Tuna Noodle Casserole

Arthur's disoriented for a moment by the darkness of the apartment when he enters, accustomed as he is to Merlin already being home and cooking dinner by this time. But Merlin had left for a conference in Denver that morning, so Arthur has to make his own food tonight. Which means he'll either be having macaroni and cheese, soup, or frozen pizza. He opens the cupboard to consider his options, and finds a note taped to the shelf.  
  
 _1\. Preheat oven to 375. Boil water. Cook noodles for 7 minutes. Don't let them go any longer because you know how you don't like it when they get too soft._    
  
Arthur has to stare at the note for a minute before understanding hits- Merlin left him directions for making dinner. He grins and shakes his head slightly; Arthur has no idea how he got this fucking lucky, but he's thankful every day that he did.  
  
He follows the directions for the noodles, and while they're cooking he hunts for the next step. He finds it in the fridge, written on the side of a tupperware container.  
  
 _2\. Heat up white sauce. (Have made it for you ahead of time because you have a tendency to burn it.)_  
  
Arthur rolls his eyes. That was one time, and he wouldn't have burned it if Merlin hadn't come in wearing only a towel and caused him to get distracted.  
  
He is grateful, however, because who knew making such a simple thing could be so difficult? He drains the noodles, and while the sauce is heating, he finds the next note taped to a bag of frozen vegetables.  
  
 _3\. Heat vegetables in microwave. Don't pick out the peas, Arthur._  
  
Arthur sticks his tongue out at the note, picks out all the peas, and puts them back in the bag for Merlin to find. He makes a mental note to ask Merlin to open that bag himself so he can be sure to catch the look on Merlin's face. Snickering, he heats the rest of the vegetables, takes the white sauce off the stove, and tracks down the next note, taped to a large bowl. Inside the bowl are two cans of tuna. The note reads:  
  
 _4\. Drain tuna. Mix everything together in this bowl. Don't worry, I washed it thoroughly after that time we almost made brownies._  
  
Arthur flushes at the memory; what had started as a cooking lesson for Arthur had ended in Arthur licking brownie batter off of Merlin's stomach. Unable to keep the grin off his face (and really not caring), Arthur follows the instructions. The next note includes an series of arrows leading him to a casserole dish in the cupboard below the silverware.   
  
 _5\. Put half of the mixture in here. CHEESE!!!_  
  
Arthur is confused by the brevity and nonsensicalness of the instructions, and looks around for more, but he doesn't find anything. He shrugs and decides to trust Merlin (his nonsense usually makes good sense eventually), and spoons half the mix into the bowl. Recalling the very emphatic last word of the note, he checks the fridge, and sure enough, the next step is written on the back of a wrapped block of cheese.  
  
 _6\. Slice cheese. Put some on top of first layer so it is cheesy in the middle. Sssshhh don't tell anyone, secret step to deliciousness!!_  
  
Arthur actually laughs out loud at this, but it turns to a sigh as he slices the cheese, because Arthur wishes Merlin was here so he could laugh with him. And then Arthur would kiss him in the middle of it and they'd laugh and kiss until they couldn't breathe.  
  
Arthur pushes away the tight feeling in his chest and focuses on adding the rest of the mix and layering cheese on top. The next note should have baking directions, he surmises, and so should be taped to the stove.  
  
(He absolutely does not do a victory fist pump when he is right.)  
  
 _7\. Bake for 30 minutes. Then call me._  
  
While the casserole cooks, Arthur pulls out his laptop and opens a few bookmarked pages. He's been searching for a ring for weeks now, but everything is either too ridiculous for Merlin to ever wear, or not special enough for the way Arthur feels about Merlin. By the time he's written down a few options, the timer is dinging.  
  
He takes the casserole out of the oven and spoons some onto a plate. Grabbing a fork and a soda, he settles on the couch and hits the green button on his phone twice.  
  
Merlin's voice is warm when he answers, "Hey you."  
  
"Hey. Thanks for dinner."  
  
"Mm, no problem. Can't have you eating toast all weekend."  
  
"Love you too."


	4. Belong

They reach the border of Camelot just before dawn.  
  
It's the moment Gwaine has been dreading since Arthur wrenched Merlin to his feet and ordered him to walk, growling at any knight who even so much looked in Merlin's direction.   
  
Gwaine normally wouldn't care- after all, Merlin is more Gwaine's friend than Arthur will ever be- but when he tried to talk to Merlin once, Merlin had shot a look at Arthur's back quickly and mouthed,  _Don't_.  
  
Other than the growling, Arthur hasn't said two words to anyone, and the person that the knights would normally send to draw Arthur out is now the person Arthur won't even look at. So Gwaine doesn't know if he's planning to pretend that none of them saw Merlin do magic or leave Merlin at the border or drag Merlin all the way into the town square and make him build his own pyre.  
  
(If Gwaine has anything to say about it, and boy does he, that last option will happen over his dead body.)  
  
Arthur halts and dismounts his horse. He stares at the castle in the distance for some time. Gwaine and the other knights cast uncertain looks at each other; Merlin just watches Arthur, like he's waiting, and Gwaine thinks that even now, Merlin understands Arthur better than anyone.  
  
Arthur whirls around and grabs Merlin by the arm. "We need to talk," he says, voice harsh, and drags Merlin a few feet away into the dark trees.  
  
Gwaine doesn't even pretend not to quietly shuffle closer to hear what they're saying, and after a moment, the rest of the knights follow suit.  
  
"I didn't come to Camelot to serve you, if you'll remember. I came to Camelot to work with Gaius. I thought you were a prat!"  
  
Gwaine bites back a smile, but it fades when Arthur turns to walk away. Merlin grabs his arm.  
  
"But you were a noble prat. With a good heart. Deep inside. Very deep. Lots of armor on top."  
  
Gwaine can tell Merlin is trying to bring Arthur back to their normal banter, but Arthur isn't having it.  
  
"So what, you stayed because, why, because you saw my bleeding heart and thought I'd be easy to manipulate?"  
  
"No!" Merlin makes a sound of frustration and brings his hands up to tug at his hair. "I stayed at first because..." he trails off and sighs, bringing his arms down. "Because someone asked me to have faith that you could be a great king.  
  
"And then I stayed because I understood what they meant. And I wanted to help you become that king. Or at least make sure you lived long enough.  
  
"And lately...lately I stayed because there, in Camelot, with you-" he gestures to Arthur and then the rest of the knights, who suddenly find interesting things on the ground to look at. "-I feel like I belong."  
  
His voice sounds thick, and Gwaine risks a look up to see him swallow hard, never looking away from Arthur's eyes. Arthur looks at Merlin for a long time, and Gwaine can just imagine him searching, calculating.   
  
Without a word, Arthur turns away from Merlin and walks back towards his horse. Gwaine isn't sure what that means, but it can't be good because Merlin just stands where he is, looking shattered.  
  
And it cuts Gwaine to the quick, because Merlin is the best person he knows. Merlin is as brave as any knight, and smarter than many. He's quick to smile and quicker to give you anything you need. His loyalty inspired Gwaine, who has never been loyal to anyone. And he has powerful magic, which basically makes him the best gift Arthur could ever hope to receive from the universe (which, Gwaine knows, Arthur can't see right now, but that doesn't make it any less true). Gwaine can't bear the idea of Merlin being left here, making his way somewhere else, working for another king and joking with another set of knights.  
  
Camelot isn't Camelot, at least for Gwaine, without Merlin. And he'd be willing to bet Arthur feels the same way, though he'd never say it. But he might be willing to hear it.  
  
Gwaine makes his way quietly to Arthur, who spares him a look and says, 'Whatever it is, not now, Gwaine."  
  
Gwaine was expecting this, so he nods, and turns away enough to throw Arthur off his guard. Then he makes his advance.  
  
"Magic or not, his place is here, Arthur. With us."  
  
Gwaine will never be sure if anything he said made any difference, but he really doesn't care, because as the sun breaks over the horizon, Merlin walks into Camelot beside them.


	5. Crack

_Arthur stares at Merlin for a full minute after he lowers his hand and the flames he was holding are extinguished._   
  
_Merlin stares back, unyielding but not pushing either, because he knows Arthur well enough to let him have control here._   
  
_The disbelief has disappeared from Arthur's face, leaving only the angry set of his mouth. He stalks toward Merlin, who holds his ground and never looks away._   
  
_Arthur hauls back and punches him straight across the jaw._   
  
_The crack is a sound Merlin will never forget, along with Arthur's anguished yell that has birds scattering into the sky._

 

 

  
  
I'm sorry, please have this cupcake:  
  



End file.
